Expedition on the Tundra

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Expedition on the Tundra Page 7

by StacyPlays


  This left Stacy, Wink, and Basil without tasks. The room was crowded, though, so Stacy suggested they wander around the cavern some more and clear out of the other wolves’ way for a bit while they tended to the elder wolf. Basil pressed her nose to Stacy’s torch, reigniting its flame, and the three of them set off deeper into the ice cavern. Stacy wasn’t sure what they would find wandering around, but she knew they’d only be getting in the way if they stayed back with the elder wolf.

  The three of them walked back down the long corridor to the spiral staircase. They headed upstairs and into the large rooms with murals on the walls. Stacy wanted to copy as many of the rune passages into her notebook as she could. She was determined to eventually find some way of reading them. But if for some reason that wasn’t possible, she at least wanted Addison to have the option to read them again when they were back home at the cave.

  Basil headed outside to go for a run. Practically speaking, Stacy knew that Basil would scout the area and determine which routes were safe to take when the time came to head back home, but Stacy also knew that Basil liked to run to clear her mind when something was bothering her. Stacy sensed Basil’s desire to run right now had more to do with taking her mind off the dying elder wolf than scouting.

  Stacy spent several hours sketching the runes with Wink at her side. Her hand grew cold and cramped from drawing so many of the runes in her notebook. She flipped through the rune-filled pages. The language looked beautiful, but she longed to know what it meant. Basil returned from her run and Stacy decided enough time had passed that they should go back downstairs to check on how everyone was doing.

  Stacy, Basil, and Wink tiptoed (or in Basil and Wink’s case, tip-pawed) through the archway of the elder wolf’s chambers so as not to disturb him in case he was sleeping. As they approached the others, Stacy saw that the old wolf was, in fact, asleep. Everest and Addison looked weary, fatigued from keeping vigil at the wolf’s bedside for several hours. Noah was curled up near the fire and Tucker, poor Tucker, was still at the wolf’s side, trying in vain to heal him. Stacy suspected Tucker’s healing abilities would not be able to help the old wolf—that he was too far gone and that it was his time to die. She also suspected that deep down, Tucker knew this too. But Stacy also understood Tucker needed to try everything he could.

  “Why don’t you all go up for some fresh air,” Stacy said, breaking the silence in the room. “Wink and I can keep watch for a bit. We can send Basil up to get you quickly if anything happens.”

  One by one, the wolves got up and filed out of the room past Stacy. Everest was the first, and Stacy gave him a kiss on the cheek as he passed by her. He was followed by Addison and Noah and, lastly, a dejected-looking Tucker.

  “You’re doing everything you can for him,” Stacy said to the wolves as they started down the corridor. “I’m sure he knows that and is appreciative.”

  Stacy turned back to the elder wolf. She wanted so badly to approach him, but she had kept her distance thus far. Who knows if he’s ever seen a human before in his entire life? He might not want me here. Stacy decided she would put her doubts aside, and knelt down near the elder wolf, cupping his muzzle in her hands.

  The elder wolf stirred, lifting his head and pressing his nose to Stacy’s. What happened next, Stacy could only describe as having some type of dream . . . or vision. Purple light flashed before her eyes and suddenly she was upstairs in the room with the wolf ice sculpture. A man sat on a stool, working on the ice carving while a tiny wolf pup poked his head out from behind the statue. He stood below it, looking up at the statue in progress, and puffed his chest out to mimic its fierce stance. The man paused his work to look down at the pup adoringly. Something about the small wolf was familiar to Stacy. Everest? The purple light flashed again, and Stacy was transported this time to the tundra just outside of the ice cave. A beautiful wolf was standing alongside a woman. The wolf’s coat was white and gray like Everest’s, with patches of rust-colored fur along her back like Addison’s. Her fur was thick like Tucker’s, fluffy like Noah’s, and shiny like Basil’s. Her eyes were prismatic. Suddenly, a male wolf with vibrant purple eyes emerged from the cave with five small wolf puppies following him. The purple light flashed again. Stacy was back in one of the cave’s chambers where the woman sat at a desk, writing in symbols. A tiny wolf slept in her lap with one eye closed particularly tightly. Wink? Purple light enveloped Stacy again and the vision dissipated.

  Stacy opened her eyes and looked around her. Everest, Tucker, and Addison had returned, and all of her wolves were looking at Stacy with concerned expressions.

  “Everest was here as a wolf pup,” Stacy blurted out. “Wink too. You all were. You’re all the descendants of the wolves who lived here. They’re your ancestors.”

  Stacy looked at the dying wolf. He was exhausted from showing Stacy the past. Everest and Tucker were beside him and, looking at them and then back to the old wolf, Stacy could only imagine how hardy and full of life the elder wolf must have been in his youth.

  Tucker began to glow, channeling all his energy into one final attempt to heal the dying wolf. But it was no use. The elder wolf drew his final breath. Tucker let out a sorrowful howl that reverberated through the glacier walls. Stacy cried on Wink’s shoulder and Addison comforted Everest while Noah and Basil looked on in horror. Tucker’s howl was still echoing throughout the chamber. But then came a different sound. Stacy heard what sounded like glass shattering all around her. She looked for the source of the noise, but she saw nothing. The stalactites on the ceiling, however, began to quiver and tiny cracks began to form on the walls around them. All at once, Stacy and the others realized what was happening.

  “RUN!” Stacy shouted over the growing rumble above them. “The glacier is collapsing!”

  Sixteen

  NOAH AND ADDISON were the first to race out of the room and down the crumbling corridor. Everest stood in the doorway of the elder wolf’s chambers, ready to protect Stacy should the roof cave in.

  “Go with the others!” Stacy shouted to Everest. His silver eyes were wide with panic. “Make sure the way out is clear, I’ll be right behind!”

  Everest motioned to Basil and Wink to stay with Stacy and then ran off after the others to clear the way. Stacy looked at Tucker, who was shielding the elder wolf’s body from the small, but sharp, ice daggers that were breaking off the stalactites and raining down on them.

  “Tucker doesn’t want to leave him down here!” Stacy shouted to Basil over the noise of the shifting ice above them. Wink ran over to Tucker and tried to pull him away from the elder wolf.

  “Tuck!” Stacy shouted. “This is where he wanted to die. He would want his body to stay here. You have to come with us now . . . PLEASE!”

  Tucker nodded slowly and started to stand, but his legs buckled under him and he collapsed onto the floor. Stacy ran over to him.

  “He’s depleted from trying to heal the elder wolf!” Stacy shouted to Wink, who raced to Tucker’s side. Basil and Stacy lifted Tucker onto Wink’s back and then Wink set off into the corridor while Stacy climbed on Basil. She wrapped both of her arms around the wolf’s neck for what she assumed was going to be a very fast, very bumpy sprint to the surface. Stacy gave the elder wolf one last look before Basil took off like a bolt of lightning, passing Wink and Tucker in the corridor, Everest on the staircase (which was swaying back and forth as the glacier moved), and then finally overtaking Addison and Noah in the hall with the ice statue, which was now in shattered pieces on the ground.

  “Basil, stop!” Stacy shouted, jumping off the wolf and grabbing the pickaxe and diary from the crumbling ice desk. They raced out of the entrance and onto the tundra just in time to turn around and see the giant glacier shift and slide into a new position, demolishing everything in its path and creating a giant wave of water beneath it that spilled out over the tundra.

  Stacy and the wolves stood a safe distance away watching, and grieved in silence over the elder wolf’s death. Stacy kn
ew they all wished they could have spent more time with him, but she was grateful for everything they’d experienced in the precious hours they had together. Stacy thought about how lucky they were to have arrived when they did. But no sooner had she had the thought than Everest nudged her shoulder with his nose. Stacy turned to him and the alpha wolf shook his head no. What do you mean, Everest? If we had arrived a day later than we did, the elder wolf would have already passed away, and we wouldn’t have learned what we did from him. Unless . . . did he wait for us to get here before he died? Stacy hadn’t considered the fact that the elder wolf might have been using his powers to delay his death until they reached him. He must have journeyed out on the tundra to leave the runes in the ice that Addison found. He was hoping someone would make it to the cavern before he passed away.

  Stacy turned her attention to Tucker, who was standing next to her but looked like he’d tip over if Stacy so much as tapped him.

  “Sit down, boy,” Stacy said worriedly.

  Tucker obeyed and sat down. The other wolves huddled around him, instantly concerned about their pack member. It was clear that Tucker had overexerted himself trying to heal the elder wolf. He needed to rest.

  Daylight was dwindling and Basil lit a fire in remembrance of the elder wolf. Stacy and the wolves sat in a circle around it, reflecting on the experience they’d all shared. Even though they’d only known him for a very short time, watching the elder wolf die and the collapse of his ice home felt like a tremendous loss to Stacy and the others. It reminded Stacy of when she’d seen Dusky perish in the forest fire at the taiga. Seeing a wolf die was something Stacy would not wish on anyone. She’d seen it twice now and she never wanted to witness something like that again in her life. The elder wolf’s passing was even more upsetting though, because now Stacy knew the elder wolf was a direct relative of her pack—possibly even their father! If only her wolves had been able to have more time with him. Stacy was thankful, though, for the visions that both she and Everest had experienced and for all the murals on the wall that Addison had been able to take in and that Stacy had sketched in her notebook.

  Stars filled the night sky as Basil’s fire for the elder wolf continued to burn. Stacy looked up and noticed the sky was green and purple. It looked so magical. The aurora borealis! I’ve read about this phenomenon in the sky before, but I never thought I’d actually get to see it with my own eyes! It’s beautiful. I bet that’s the spirit of the elder wolf up there in the sky now watching over us.

  Stacy wiped a tear from her face and looked around at the others. Basil, Everest, and Noah were looking up at the sky in wonder. Wink was sneaking some fish out of the pack Everest was wearing. Tucker was resting peacefully. Stacy noticed that Addison was looking behind them above the glacier with a concerned look on her face. Stacy spun around and gasped. A huge storm was forming over the glacier and moving toward them.

  “We need to find shelter,” Stacy said. But with the ice cavern no longer there, the pack had limited options. Stacy looked around the tundra, but she knew they wouldn’t be able to find anything before the storm reached them.

  “What if we . . . built something?” Stacy asked. Addison spun around in circles and barked excitedly. “We could build an igloo!”

  Stacy had seen pictures of an igloo before and knew they would need some snow bricks in order to build one. The snow on the ground of the tundra was pretty compacted and Stacy thought it should work well for building an igloo. She picked up the pickaxe from the cave and held it to the ground.

  “Here goes nothing,” she said, holding onto the heavy tool with both hands. Stacy clumsily sliced through the tundra, creating a large rectangular brick of icy snow that Noah and Everest helped her lift out and place down on a flat patch of ground nearby. They repeated this process close to fifty times, with Addison guiding them to where they should place each new brick Stacy cut from the snow, until they had built a crude igloo. It was nothing Stacy could have ever managed on her own. She knew that igloo-building skills were passed down generation to generation among cultures such as the Inuit. But for it being her first time using this pickaxe and building it with a bunch of wolves . . . she had to admit she was rather impressed with herself.

  The snow had started to fall halfway through building the igloo. At first it was pretty and it helped Stacy and the wolves to fill and smooth over the cracks in the igloo. But as they were finishing their build, the wind picked up and blew the snow in all directions around them. Stacy’s face stung from the hard wind and her fingers were numb.

  “Quick!” Stacy shouted. “Everyone inside!”

  Stacy and the wolves entered through the small tunnel-like opening in the front. That was Addison’s idea. It was a feature in traditional igloos meant to stop the wind from blowing in and to help trap some of the heat.

  Inside the igloo, Stacy and the other wolves were cozy. Very cozy. They hadn’t had time to build an igloo large enough to fit all six wolves comfortably for very long. With Stacy inside, everyone was touching each other. The wind howled loudly and Stacy suspected the center of the snowstorm was upon them now. She glanced at the igloo walls nervously.

  “Hopefully this holds through the night. . . .”

  Seventeen

  STACY WOKE TO a gentle nuzzling from Tucker. She was relieved to see Tucker was feeling better and to discover that their igloo had stood up to the snowstorm and that they’d all survived the night. Stacy crawled out of the igloo. The cloudless sky was bright blue. The storm had passed. Stacy stretched her arms up to the sky and took some deep breaths. She smelled . . . fish. Addison and Noah were cooking up some salmon while Wink looked on hungrily. Everest and Basil were a few hundred yards away from the igloo, likely charting the direction the pack would head next.

  The pack was quiet during breakfast. Everyone was still heavy-hearted from the events of the day before. They packed up camp, and Everest motioned for them all to head west. Stacy climbed on Wink’s back and the group set off. Where are we going now that Addison is no longer leading us to the elder wolf’s ice home? Does Everest have a plan for where we should go now?

  Suddenly, and without warning, Everest camouflaged with the tundra. All the other wolves’ fur bristled and changed appearance as well, leaving Stacy riding a nearly invisible wolf. Wink ran to a boulder and crouched behind it, lowering Stacy to the ground.

  Stacy peered around the boulder and saw what the problem was. A giant helicopter was on the tundra about two hundred yards away from them, its blades still in rotation, but its rails on the ground. There were already people outside of the helicopter, walking around on the snow.

  “Dr. Berg!” A female voice echoed across the tundra. “Over here, I’ve already found some wolf tracks.”

  “Very good,” Dr. Berg replied, stepping out of the helicopter. “Your semester in the field is off to a good start already.” Dr. Berg was tall and lanky and had a thin nose and wore spectacles. His long red hair was tied in a low ponytail.

  Dr. Berg walked over to the female researcher, who Stacy noticed was carrying a tranquilizer gun, and inspected the tracks. Stacy wondered if they were actually her wolves’ tracks from a few days ago. One of Stacy’s wolves, she wasn’t sure which, came up to her and nudged her to climb on their back. Stacy typically only rode on Wink or Basil, and this wolf’s movements were graceful and steady, not at all gangly. This must be Basil. Stacy climbed on and held tight. Basil waited until the researcher and Dr. Berg had their backs turned to them and then she shot off in the opposite direction like a bolt of lightning, putting as much distance between Stacy and the other humans as she could in just a few seconds.

  When she could no longer see the humans or the helicopter, Basil slowed to let Stacy down. Her camouflage was wearing off. Hmm, Stacy thought. Everest must only be able to extend his powers to the other wolves within a certain radius. What that radius was, Stacy had no idea. But now the other wolves had caught up to her and Basil and everyone was visible again. They kept walki
ng and Stacy thought about what a close call that had been.

  They were in a helicopter flying over the tundra. They could have easily spotted our igloo or one of our fires. They could have tranquilized one of my wolves from the sky and then what would we have done? But now the pack was safe.

  “Wait!” Stacy said, stopping in her tracks. “Don’t you all know what this means?”

  Addison obviously was thinking exactly what Stacy was thinking. Her tail was wagging and she was nodding at Stacy. The other wolves looked befuddled.

  “If Dr. Berg and his team are here . . . ,” Stacy started, “then that means they aren’t back in the taiga. We can go home!”

  All of the wolves’ tails began wagging and Wink spun around in celebratory circles. Stacy danced around with him until he stopped long enough for her to hop on his back.

  “Mush!” Stacy yelled. The wolves looked at her with blank expressions. “I read that was some type of dogsled command. Never mind. Not a moment to lose. Let’s go home! To the taiga!”

  The pack changed directions and started running south toward the mountain range they’d first summited that led them to the tundra at the beginning of the expedition.

  Stacy pulled out her binoculars from her satchel and scanned the mountain range, looking for either a pass or the least daunting peak for them to summit. As the wolves began climbing up the mountain in front of them, Stacy’s eyes caught a glimpse of movement high up on one of the craggy overhangs. Is it a snowshoe hare? No! A lynx cub! Is it alone?

  Everest, hearing Stacy’s thoughts, also looked up to where the cub was precariously crouched. He let out a stern bark. Everest, no! We have to rescue it if it’s all alone. I know it’s dangerous, but that’s what we do! Besides, you all have so many more new powers than you did before. We can handle it.

 

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